Just a Pinch
by Geekgirltori
Summary: After Queen Cousland has returned from Ameranthine, she is plagued with nightmares. Awoken one morning and sent to her study to think, something reminds her of the pinch of Andraste's Ashes she took on a whim from the Urn. Perhaps it is the solution to all her and Alistair's problems. Only one way to find out...


AN: This is a one-shot between Lady Cousland and Alistair Theirin. I will refer to her as Cousland or the Queen so it can apply to any OC from your version of the game. I find that when folks use names for characters you can name yourself (ie Cousland, Hawke, Shepard, etc) It takes away from the story because you can't imagine it as YOUR character as much.

Anyway, the idea was inspired by a post on Dragon Age Headcannons on Tumblr and I loved the idea so it inspired this one-shot. Hope you enjoy it! R&amp;R!

* * *

Lady Cousland woke up in a cold sweat from a dream. Despite the fact that all was well in Ferelden and the Archdemon had been vanquished, she still had nightmares of it…and of the taint. When her nightmares occurred, it was always the same; she would awake next to her king, her Alistair, and he would be stone cold and dead. She would sob over his limp corpse and pray to the Maker himself that He would take her too, but for some reason He never did. She would live for years and years and never die. Then, at an old age, the corruption takes her over drawing her to the Deep Roads. There, her body becomes that of a darkspawn and she spends eternity stalking the roads of the underworld with the rest of the beasts.

Her jolt awoke her husband and he sat up, reaching for her. Placing a hand to his lover's cheek, he whispered kindly too her.  
"Hey, hey! Calm down, my love. What is it…what's wrong?" he coos at her, placing his other hand on her other cheek. Cousland gasps for breath in her panic as tears well in her eyes.  
"The dream again, Alistair…" she says breathlessly, "That damn dream again."

Alistair sighs. He hated that he could do nothing to ease her worries and her pain from these nightmares. All he could do was wake up next to her and speak softly, occasionally stroking her hair and kissing her. It wasn't enough for him though. He wanted to do more to help the woman he loved more than life itself. All she had done for him, he truly wished he could do something for her.  
"I'm here, love, alright? You…you don't need to worry anymore."

Cousland pushes the blankets from her body and places her feet on the floor. The sun had not yet risen, but she knew she could not fall back asleep.  
"You're sure you don't want to try to sleep again?" Alistair asks, starting to get out of bed himself. Cousland puts her hand up to tell him to stop moving.  
"No, love, it's alright. You can sleep; the King needs his rest."  
"So does the Queen…"  
"I will be fine, Alistair. You need not worry about me." Cousland smiles and comes around to his side of the bed. She pushes him gently back onto the pillow and kisses him softly on the forehead.  
"Sleep now, my love. I will be here when you wake."  
"As will I." Alistair says. He takes her hand and kisses the back of it before curling into the blankets and falling asleep.

Cousland half-smiled at this. He always reminded her of a dog when he curled into the covers. He would make sweet little noises in his sleep and, on occasion, he would talk. Usually it was about her. She would hear him saying her name and recalling their moments together during the Blight. He would talk of his rose and when he first told her he loved her. Upon meeting Alistair, Cousland hadn't even thought of having a permanent relationship with anyone. Of course, Lord Howe would attempt to push his youngest son upon her, but she had no mind for a relationship let alone being married. There were a lot of things that Alistair brought to light for her. She teased Fergus about his marriage and how much he loved Oriana. He would tell her some day she would find someone who would "tolerate" her. She never believed it, however. Not until she met her Alistair.

Exiting their bedroom, Cousland made her way to her study. Her mabari hound lied in his bed and wagged his stubby tail when she entered the room.  
"Hello little one." She said, scratching his head, "Can't sleep again tonight…"

Her mabari whimpered and, once Cousland sat down, he placed his head on her lap. Cousland looked at the papers in front of her; notes on the taint. After she and Alistair became the rulers of Ferelden, the two attempted to have a child. The tried many times but discovered that, since both of them had the taint, they could not bear children. Who would take over Ferelden when the two of them perished from it? This question often plagued her.

Cousland felt a warm, wet lick on her hand from her Mabari. He knew of her stress and would often do his best to cheer her up. Today, however, her despair was at a high it had not been before. She would never have children, she would die at a young age…or perhaps her dream would become a reality.

As she was overtaken by her thoughts, something drew her attention to a drawer in the desk she sat at. She heard slight whispers in her mind, though they were not malevolent. Curiously, she drew her hand closer to the drawer and the voices became more intense. Once she pulled it open, they stopped. Inside the drawer was a single, small leather pouch.

"The ashes?" she asked aloud. When she had journeyed to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes to heal Arl Eamon she remembered that, upon approaching the Urn, something told her to take an extra pinch of the ashes. She took a pinch for Eamon, but she also took a pinch for herself in that same small, leather pouch. As she thought about it, she never really considered using the pinch for herself. It had cured Eamon of his poisoning, so what else could it cure? Perhaps this was just wishful thinking…

However, there were many miracles that Cousland had come into while on her journeys. She had, first of all, met her husband in Ostagar of all places on the brink of a war. She had made lifelong friends with two different apostates, a friskey, rogue elf, a rogue bard, an elderly mage possessed by a benevolent spirit, a quinari, a drunken dwarf, a stone golum, one of Arl Howe's sons of all people, a warrior spirit, a dwarven rogue of the Legion of the Dead, and an exiled dalish elf-mage. Not to mention she _survived_ slaying the Archdemon. There was also Alistair's rose…It was a strange thing; that rose. Even though it had been almost a year since he had given it to her, it still lived. It sat in a vase on her desk and bloomed every day like it was blooming anew. It never wilted, never browned, and always smelled just as sweet as the day Alistair gave it to her. Was this truly The Maker's rose?

Pushing herself from the desk, Cousland takes the pouch in her hands. It feels warm to the touch, like a mother's loving embrace, and she felt as though her parents were with her in that moment.  
"The wine…" she heard a whisper in her ear, "put the ashes in the wine…"

So peculiar…she never would have thought to do that with the ashes. Tonight Alistair and she were to have a dinner party celebrating the eve in which they met. All of their companions, save Morrigan, would be there to celebrate the occasion with them. It was the perfect excuse to try out this idea. What it would do, there was no telling, but Cousland just knew it was important to at least try. Something gave her that feeling.

That evening, the guests all arrived greeting their King and Queen with warm embraces, smiles, handshakes, and head-nods. There was music sung by a familiar bard, dancing, and general merriment. Wynne spoke of trying to find a spell that would change Shayle back into a dwarf. Sten talked of returning to Par Vollen. Zevran had settled with a Dalish clan in the East and found a pretty elven maiden he was smitten for. Oghren was too busy drinking all the ale to make conversation that wasn't slurred. Cousland's Mabari hound was getting his belly rubbed by Nathanial, and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

When it came time to serve the meal, Cousland excused herself and made her way into the kitchen. Walking to hers and Alistair's cup, she takes the pouch of ashes from her pocket and sprinkles the pinch she took evenly into both glasses. Placing the now empty pouch back into her pocket, she reenters the dining room and sits at her place next to her king.

The supper is served and everyone tells stories of everything they had been up to since defeating the Archdemon. There was laughter and smiles all around. At a free moment, Alistair stands and raises his chalice.

"I would like to propose a toast!" he shouts. Everyone raises a glass with him, including his wife.  
"To old friends and new. To all who could be here tonight to celebrate this occasion." He looks down to Cousland and grins wildly at her, "And to my beautiful wife. I could not have asked for a better woman to spend eternity with. You are my heart, my soul, and my everything. I love you, my Queen."  
"And I love you, Alistair." Cousland says, grinning right back at him. He leans down and kisses her on the lips. An audible 'aww" comes from most of the guests. Sten remains silent, and Shayle wretches at the display.

"Shall we continue before I lose my appetite?" Shayle says with a sneer.  
"I didn't know you had an appetite, Shayle." Cousland replies.  
"Oh, ho, ho. I see you have not lost your sense of humor." Shayle retorts, though she is smiling.  
"Can we get back to my toast now? I was being really romantic just then…" Alistair pouts slightly as the crowd silences for him to speak again, "To the Queen of Ferelden."  
"And, of course, To the King of Ferelden." Cousland stands.  
"To the King and Queen of Ferelden!" the guests roar as they all raise their glasses high and take a drink.

Cousland watches Alistair take a sip from his cup. He makes a curious face.  
"This is excellent wine! What kind is it I wonder?"  
"Just what we had in the cellar, my love." Cousland says with a smile. She takes a sip from her own glass. It does taste wonderful. A sweet taste with a peculiar warmth to it. The same warmth Cousland felt when holding the pouch for the first time. After a few moments, she sits back down in her chair. She didn't feel any different other than the warmth in her stomach. Maybe nothing had happened. Perhaps the ashes had lost their power by being outside of the Urn for too long. However, the conversation with friends had distracted her from her thoughts and allowed her to enjoy the evening until it was time for everyone to part once again.

Months had passed and Cousland noticed a few things now. Firstly, she had stopped having nightmares. Her dreams were soft, welcoming, and kind. She had awoken happy in the mornings and noticed that Alistair seemed to awaken the same way. Another thing she noticed was that she had a lot more energy recently. She was able to do things she hadn't done since she was a child. She could play with her mabari without getting fatigued after a few minutes. It was a wonderful feeling, but it was only a coincidence, right?

There was a maid who took care of most of the feminine needs around the castle who approached Cousland that morning.  
"Your highness." She said, her tone surprised.  
"Yes Erissa, what is it?"  
"I…I don't know how to say this…"

Alistair was going over some maps with a nobleman when Cousland entered the room.  
"My king, I need to speak with you."  
"Just a moment love, I-"  
"Alistair, please! It's…important."

Concerned, Alistair told the nobleman he would return shortly as he followed his Queen to their quarters. She paced the room, not knowing what to say.  
"Is everything alright, love? You look a bit out of sorts."  
"I've…I've received news; wonderful news, Alistair! I…I just don't know how to tell it!"  
"Just tell me, love. What is it?!"

She motions for him to sit on the bed and he does. She sits next to him and nervously fiddles with her fingers.  
"You remember when we went to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes?" she begins.  
"Of course. We cured Arl Eamon's poison."  
"Yes, well…on a whim, I decided to take a pinch of the ashes for myself. Something…something in me told me to do it." She paused, "And the dinner party for the anniversary of our meeting?"  
"Yes, dear. What are you getting at?" Alistair was anxious to hear the real story.  
"That morning I…got another feeling. So before supper, I took the ashes and sprinkled the pinch into our wine."  
"I…why?"  
"Well it cured Arl Eamon…so what else could it cure?"  
"I'm er…I'm not following you, love."

Cousland pauses, turning to face him and look him straight in the eyes.  
"Alistair I…I think it cured the taint."  
"WHAT?!" he took a moment to think, "How do you…that's impossible! W-why do you think that?!"  
"Because Erissa came to me this morning and…" she pauses, "Alistair…I'm pregnant."

Alistair paused for a moment. His eyes brimmed with tears as he embraced his beloved wife. It was true now. Their taint was finally cured. They were finally free. All it took was just a pinch…

The End


End file.
